The non-economic impacts of pay equity adjustments, employee attitudes and behaviours

grantor: University of TorontoThis thesis examines the non-economic impacts of Pay Equity (or Comparable Worth as it is called in the United States) in Ontario workplaces. Canada is widely recognized as having implemented Pay Equity more extensively than any other country in the world, and its province of Ontario is unique in its proactive application of Pay Equity to both the public and private sectors. The theoretical premise of this research is that Pay Equity legislation is a redress of presumed inequity and its implementation of differential adjustment awards results in a new situation of inequity. The predicted consequences of receiving a Pay Equity adjustment are predicated on Adams' (1963, 1965) ways to reduce inequity, as proposed by his equity theory. Data collected from seven different employee groups at three organizations are used to test the hypotheses, which are categorized as individual level and workplace-group level responses to Pay Equity, and are based on whether the employee receives a Pay Equity adjustment. Sixteen dependent variables are explored as consequences of receiving a Pay Equity award. The hypotheses compare individual attitudes, individual behaviours, intergroup attitudes, and interpersonal behaviours of employees who perceive that they did receive a Pay Equity adjustment with those of responding employees who perceive that they did not. Perceived receipt of adjustment awards, and not actual receipt, is the basis of comparison, since the overall accuracy rate is only 58%. Results indicate partial support for the following dependent variables: pay satisfaction, tardiness, working harder since the implementation of Pay Equity, gender-based resentment, and deterioration of the interactions of employees. For the individual level variables, hypothesis support is found for the males in the sample. Results show support for females for the workplace-group level variables of gender-based resentment and interpersonal interactions. Although there are some adverse non-economic impacts of Pay Equity, overall, they are not excessive.Ph.D